The wife and I went to a local range on Saturday. We fired three rifles, an AR-15, a 30-06, and the Marlin XS-7.

My Father-in-law had my wife shoot a 300 win mag when she was around 12 years old so she has a fairly significant fear of rifles and recoil.

She has fired a Browning lever gun in .44mag but that's about it as far as rifle shooting is concerned.

The Marlin was purchased in PA from a PAFOA member back in 2010. In fact, it was the weekend of DC Dalton's picnic where I meet many awesome PA people.

The first shot out of the XS-7 didn't hit paper much less the 3X3 ft plywood the taget was stapled too. I couldn't figure out where the bullet went. I'm thinking, WTF, we are only shooting at 25 yards, should have at least hit the plywood? Well, she had her eyes closed because she feared the recoil. Way to go Dad!!!

Well, two boxes of ammo later, she was shooting 3 shot, shot groups that a dime can cover at 100 yards. Very proud of the wife overcoming her fears.

So we move onto the AR-15. Again, first shot she has her eyes closed? Why? Well, in movies and TV and the news, these evil guns are master's of destruction. In her mind, this was the Rambo gun (M-60) with the hand held belt of ammunition. Her words.
What? it has half the recoil of the XS-7 in .243? End result, she loves it. She now wants one of her own. Second profound statement...I think I will keep this next to the bed instead of my Glock 19...I have Hornandy Tap 75 grain bullets loaded in a 20 rnd mag. Yeah, she likes it! LOl

She will not shoot the 06. I was just confirming my zero.

Well, she'll be hunting with the XS-7 in .243 for deer and elk and I'll be using the AR-15 for deer with 75gr Tap rounds. For elk, I'm upgrading to a 300 win mag.

I liked the XS-7. Really liked the trigger. Nice little gun for the price. Also, it came with a Nikon Pro-staff 3x9. Nice scope too.

Yup, you could say that all the shooting got me a nooner!!!

CL

Now I lay me to sleep, beside my bed a Glock I keep. If I wake & find you inside, Coroner's van will be your next ride.

Some might argue that the .243 is a little light for Elk. I, would be one of them. But the reality is, she is scared to death of rifles, the recoil. I would much rather her shoot 100 gr nosler patritions and put them in the vitals all day long than shoot a .308 and not hit the mountain because of fear.

Yes, the ammo of choice is a 100 gr. bonded bullet, Nosler partition.

Couple youtube video's of folks taking down elk with .243's, one was a lady in Wyoming at 700 yards. I prefer a heavier bullet but I would rather have accuracy with the wife than missed shots or wounded animals getting away.

One or two good center mass shots from the Nosler partitions will do the job. We have some more range time before our Elk hunt in December. She'll be shooting elk targets in the vitals so she has a better idea about shot placement etc...this was step one. Over come fear!

I am very curious to see how the 100 gr performs on deer. That would give me an idea on how they might work on an Elk.

CL

Now I lay me to sleep, beside my bed a Glock I keep. If I wake & find you inside, Coroner's van will be your next ride.

Not sure what Marlin used twist wise on the XS rifles, but if I wanted to shoot heavies for the 243...I'd make sure I had at least a 1:8 twist and use Dtac 115gr bullets. Or use one of those 105 gr bullets offered as well on Elk sized game.

Elk isn't any different to kill than whitetail...they have thin skin as well. Shot placement is key.

BTW, you can use any small shank Savage prefit barrel if you ever wanted to get a better barrel for your rifle...or if you just wanted to change calibers.
Marlin uses Winchester stocks if you want to replace the stock.

Well, there's still plenty of us here that will disagree with you, and agree with Aubie and some others. I think if you limit the shots within reasonable distances, use a good solid bullet that will hold together, and put them where they count; the elk will die just fine. Launching a misplaced 180 grain bullet even 3,300 fps won't kill an elk quickly or ethically.

If you think a .243 is near the bottom range for large white tail, I'd question how many you've seen killed, and at what distances. I've seen large mule deer stoned with a .243, and at distances further than most guys shoot. Having a bullet that holds together but still expands, and putting it where it counts is the important thing.